Comeback for Smith begins on the bench

George Smith is set to be named on the Brumbies bench for his comeback game against the Waratahs in Canberra on Saturday night.

George Smith is set to be named on the Brumbies bench for his comeback game against the Waratahs in Canberra on Saturday night.

The Brumbies are set to name their team on Thursday. So are the Waratahs, who will train at Newington College in Stanmore on Thursday after postponing their scheduled team announcement from Wednesday. Smith's expected naming as a reserve will ensure the Brumbies back row go full blast for 80 minutes.

The 110-Test veteran, who has 128 Super Rugby caps for the Brumbies, has made an instant impression on the Canberra side in his three training sessions since he returned from playing in Japan last week.

''He is such an easygoing bloke off the field. But when it comes to game preparation and on the training field, he holds absolutely nothing back,'' Brumbies captain Ben Mowen said on Wednesday. ''He was speaking to the group [on Tuesday] about what we needed to do in 'prep' and he has had a huge voice in training already. When a guy of that experience speaks, it really resonates with the guys.''

The Brumbies starting back row picked so far has been a formidable unit with Mowen (No.8), David Pocock (No.7) and Peter Kimlin (No.6). Fotu Auelua and Colby Faingaa start on the bench.